you will just have to keep quivering for that time has not yet arrived but rest assure its on its way my friend. but lets not get off the point here, what im growing is not what is in question.

Wish I had a dollar for everytime I heard " I can't show you now, but just you wait".

Thats the whole point, I don't have time to wait.

Good growing, Al

Ummmmmm.....Yeah it is the point. Not just yours, but everyone else that puts a seed, cutting, nursery stock or what have you in the ground or pot with the hopes of one day growing "their" masterpiece.

This is an exercise in rhetorical double talk and conundrums. No matter what side of this argument you come down on you can't win. So what does that mean? It means that if there is a right answer and both A and B don't seem to be the right answers by them selves then possibly both A and B are equally correct, flawed but correct.

To me the real right answer is what makes you as a bonsai grower happy and productively engaged in growing bonsai. Me; I get a kick out of developing the bonsai I develop out of nothing material. Others go for the top end pre-bonsai et al, and collected trees, and yet others will search out finished, or near finished bonsai to work with. So who is wrong here and who is right?

It seems that we have allowed ourselves to get trapped into finding fault with all of the methods that we don't personally use; the my way or the high way mentality. Ah but wait: A high way has many lanes and many people travel that high way and at different speeds, there is the fast lane and the slow lane and in some states the emergency lane.

Wise words, Vance. I like it.

I understand what your saying Vance. I've been known to drive in both lanes. So with experience in the fast lane as well as the slow. I can see that the orginal premise will get you there all the quicker in a quality ride. I do enjoy taking the scenic route as well, I just hope I'm not fertilizer by the time the tree is ready to get into the fast lane.

To each there own. What ever makes you happy is what counts. Just don't get peev'd when someone shrugs there shoulders after a viewing.

ahhhh mr keppler sir, i have not asked you to wait nor have i said i cant, but quite frankly your time is of no concern to me and it would be spent more wisely getting back on it, may i suggest? once again a thread that seems to have gone astray!

unless im mistaken or i have missed something this is not what this thread was talking about. but but obviously yourself and al would like to make a point of it. i also dont recall staking claim to any masterpieces. now while we are on that where are yours and your friends masterpieces that give you both the authority to make your claims.

Anttal, I believe you are mistaken. Re-read Al's opening statements. BTW this thread is Al's editorial which means it's his opinion. Doesn't mean you have to agree or get tweaked, well actually you can get tweaked.

At your request I humbly submit a few of my works in progress, which pale in comparison to Al's. I thought you read his threads. He posts a lot of pictures.

Attached Images

	jsw_100_0295_0001.jpg (51.8 KB, 48 views)
	jsw_pa080337.jpg (64.9 KB, 48 views)
	jsw_spruce.jpg (65.4 KB, 47 views)

tacigi thankyou for responding. my understanding was that the level of expertise needed to take over ones creation verses starting one from scratch was in question and have based my opinion on this. i have only been in it 2.5 years so am limited to what i have to show, doesnt mean i will allow my thoughts,potentials and beliefs to be blown away. your trees are beautiful but with all due respect and no disrespect the word used earlier was masterpiece. me i love getting ticked allows me to ask myself questions.